Production in the Elayapattuwa Tile Factory in Anuradhapura has been halted for the last three months following the disconnection of electricity supply for failure to settle the electricity bill arrears of Rs 2.1 million. The Ceylon Ceramics Corporation under which the tile factory functions was responsible for settling electricity bills.Workers in the Tile Factory expressed fears that the entire factory might be closed indefinitely for want of electricity.

The factory has 105 permanent employees and around 300 casual workers. The workers said that they reported for work in the morning and whiled away time.

A high ranking official of the Ceramic Corporation said that Treasury had allocated funds for the payment of salaries for the next three months and as such there was no immediate danger of the factory being closed.